Platelet Membrane Receptors

It was just about ten years ago that platelet membrane glycoproteins were first charac terized and their abnormalities in congenital bleeding disorders first recognized. Dur ing this decade there has been a remarkable growth in our understanding of the structure and membrane organization of the platelet surface glycoproteins, their in teractions with external ligands during the process of hemostasis, and their defects causing hemorrhagic disease. These studies have advanced the knowledge of platelet involvement in hemostasis from a cellular to a molecular level, and they have provided a model for contact interactions among other cell types. This seemed a proper time to ask those who contributed major observations and insights during these past years to review their progress and to assess the state of our present knowledge. We have planned this volume to begin with the biochemistry of platelet membrane glycoproteins themselves and proceed through their involvement in platelet function to the final considerations of the platelet's role in maintaining the integrity of the vascular system. Our aim was an integrated presentation on the blood platelet from the perspective of its highly specialized and reactive cell surface. James N. George Alan T. Nurden David R. Phillips vii Contents I. INTRODUCTION 1. Plasma Membrane Receptors and Platelet Response Ernst F. Wscher 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Platelet Receptor Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . 2. 1. Receptors Involved in Platelet Adhesion and in Cell-Cell Contact. . . 5 2. 2. Receptors Involved in Platelet Activation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . 3. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 II.

Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyBrief™ that delivers timely, authoritative, comprehensive, and specialized information about Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins in a concise format. The editors have built Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Recent years have seen tremendous advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanism of platelet activation. All aspects of signal transduction in platelets from the identification of surface receptors, G proteins, phospholipases, protein kinases and phosphatases, intracellular receptors for inositol phosphates, the Ca2+ regulatory machinery, cytoskeletal constituents to the control mechanism employing cyclic nucleotides has seen an explosion of information regarding their importance and for each constituent in the family of molecules to which they belong. This information has been of interest to researchers across a wide spectrum of disciplines including biochemists, pharmacologists, cell biologists and clinicians. In April 1992 an International Symposium bearing the name of this volume was organised at the Thrombosis Research Institute to bring together scientists from across the world whose common interest was the study of platelet activation and its regulation. We were particularly encouraged by the positive response from our speakers and the participants, their detailed contributions and the very lively discussions that took place throughout the two days of the symposium. Almost every aspect of signal transduction in human platelets was represented. Of the invited speakers twelve were from Europe (including the U. K. ), eight from North America and one from Japan. This volume is a compilation of chapters submitted by the speakers and represents a concise but informative picture of the present knowledge of the mechanisms of platelet activation and control.

The special contribution of the present volume is that of gathering a large amount of up-to-date information on the formidable problem of the methods used for testing platelet function in thrombosis. The methods used for studying platelet behavior in hemorrhagic disorders due to abnormal platelet function are undoubtedly characterized by difficulties in interpretation and by poor reproducibility. However, all will agree that the problem of the significance and importance of platelet function tests in thrombosis and atherosclerosis is an absolute "morass," and recent and past papers on the measurement of platelet adhesiveness in myocardial infarction could well appear in a special issue of the new "Journal of Irreproducible Results". This volume includes both general papers on the role of platelets in thrombosis by G. V. R. Born, Duncan P. Thomas, and J. R.

New updated edition first published with Cambridge University Press. This new edition includes 29 chapters on topics as diverse as pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, vascular haemodynamics, haemostasis, thrombophilia and post-amputation pain syndromes.

Hemostasis is the mechanism that controls thrombosis and bleeding after tissue trauma. In spite of the fact that thrombotic vascular diseases are the most common cause of mortality in developed countries, the basic mechanisms of hemostasis and the causes of thrombosis are still poorly understood. Von Willebrand factor is a key adhesive protein with a crucial role in platelet function and may thus be a key factor in the development of thrombosis. This book provides a state-of-the-art account of the progress made in understanding the structure and function of this protein, providing at the same time an update of the current knowledge of hemostasis and thrombosis.